Mara sells Melbourne property to fund manager for RM117.37m

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 20): Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) has sold a strata office property in the commercial business district of Melbourne to specialist property fund manager Placer Property Ltd for A$37.5 million (RM117.37 million), the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported.

The six-floor property in Exhibition Street is part of a larger building that includes an international hotel and commercial car park, and one among four assets controlled by the Malaysian government agency, the business daily said in a report published on its website.

Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd, which owns AFR, carried out an eight-month investigation into the Mara asset following alleged dubious property transactions in 2014.

In its report yesterday, AFR said Mara showed a A$1.2 million loss on the asset in 2016 after it became vacant.

The agency acquired the property from Quintessential Equity Pty Ltd for A$22 million in 2012, and at the start of this year, it was leased out to University of Melbourne.

AFR quoted Placer Property joint managing director Mario Papaleo as saying: “We were attracted to the asset due to its strategic location with uninterrupted views of the World Heritage-listed Carlton Gardens and its very secure, stable income flowing from the sole tenant, the University of Melbourne.”

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Dec 20, 2017.

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